Illicit tobacco seized from eight native companies

More than 19,500 illicit cigarettes and three.15kg of hand rolling tobacco have been seized by North Lanarkshire Council’s Trading Standards workforce from eight native companies.

Investigations are ongoing, with premises going through potential legal prosecution, licence evaluations and extra sanctions, together with monetary penalties of as much as £10,000.

The seizures have been made throughout two separate operations in Airdrie, Wishaw and Motherwell in August and September.

The illicit tobacco merchandise have been hid and saved in purpose-built areas designed to evade detection however have been uncovered with the help of tobacco detection canines.

In a separate operation, an area enterprise has had its alcohol licence revoked by the Licensing Board after the council’s Environmental Health Officers seized 25 x 35cl bottles of counterfeit vodka.

The officers are actually working with Food Standards Scotland’s Food Crime Unit to organize a case for submission to the Crown Office and additional examine the provision chain concerned.

“Illegal cigarettes and tobacco products cause significant health risks as there’s no quality control involved in their manufacture,” Councillor Helen Loughran, Convener of the Environment and Climate Change Committee, explains.

“Shockingly, among the merchandise have been found hidden inside a dirty, unhygienic waste bin which underscores the unlawful commerce’s utter disregard for public well being and security.

“Our officers rely on intelligence from members of the public, Police Scotland and other partners to identify the businesses who are selling these products and take action to remove them from our communities.”

These newest seizures imply the Trading Standards Service has seized over 108,000 cigarettes (over 5,420 packets) of illicit cigarettes and 32kg of hand rolling tobacco from 22 premises throughout North Lanarkshire within the final 12 months.

If any members of the general public have issues that illicit merchandise are being provided from retail premises in North Lanarkshire, please contact Trading Standards at tradingstandards@northlan.gov.uk.